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Hacturi and Elvs
The World of Iitu contains two non-human sentient races; Hacturi and Elvs. ((Items marked with (?) are things that I'm not sure about or are yet to be defined)) The Hacturi are reptilian humanoids*. They prefer warmer temperatures, and thus they build their cities in the south, in the great empire of Hactur. Hacturi can be found in other parts of the world as well, but not in great numbers(?). Hacturi have a far greater lifespan then Humans, living for centuries- some even live for over a thousand years. Qua personality and behaviour, they are not so different from Humans- there are differences, but not so many as one might expect from an entirely different species. Elvs (not a typo) are night indistinguishable from Humans. In fact, Elvs and Humans can interbreed, although the children are almost(?) always Elvs (?). Elvs are notable for their extended lifespan, their erratic personalities, and a curious tendency to be surrounded by loyal men despite being... dicks. They are fiercely competitive amongst themselves- an Elv's greatest enemy is his own family. Elvs are scare- very scare. ((Only select characters know anything about Elvs. If a GM has not indicated to the contrary, and no one has told your character about them, you do not know about Elvs. Even Elvs don't know about Elvs; many believe themselves to be merely cursed Humans, not realising their ancestry)) Only one bloodline of Elvs has been defined in game as of yet; the Vadud or Changer bloodline. They are very aggressive people. Kain Vadud emerged in the first YAK, did some stuff in Elbreth, and eventually founded the nation of Lonemine. In the hundred years that have since passed, Kain has had many children, and his children have had children. Many of these children have murdered each other. William Vadud (alias William Varaum) is one of Kain's grandchildren, who fled to Ligoria after his brethren's desire to murder him became too much to bear. That is all fine and well. But here is the really interesting part about these two races. Actually, make that three, because we are throwing the Humans into the mix as well: The Hacturi were the first of the three races to call Iitu their home. For millions(?) of years they were alone. Then, thousands of years ago, there emerged a mighty emperor amongst the Hacturi. His skill with magic was legendary, especially with the delicate area of genetic engineering (bear with me). It is said he could turn a dog into a cat with a snap of his fingers, and the Hacturi attribute him with both the creation and destruction of a great many fantastic beasts. However, he is best remembered for his most disastrous of creations. It appears that the Hacturi grew lazy, and sought slaves to do their work for them. Being moral creatures, they prefered not to enslave their own kind. So the wise wizard-emperor did the only logical thing, and created a new race from the bodies of great apes, to serve as slaves to the Hacturi. He gave them intelligence, and named them Humans. This worked fine for about a thousand years. Then the emperor died, and with him, the magics that kept the humans enslaved. Humanity rebelled. The war was terribly one sided- the Hacturi were in greater numbers, had better equipment, and greater skill. But the Humans fought hard, and destroyed much of the Hacturi homelands, and though they were almost all slaughtered, a few thousand managed to flee north, to the cold lands where the Hacturi had only a minimal presence. There they made their homes as a free people, and quickly expanded. They forgot (at least consciously) their origins, and when they re-encountered the Hacturi, it was on a more equal footing, so the Hacturi saw no reason to remind them. Indeed, the history of Humanity shamed many of the Hacturi, so many of them chose to forget as well. The Elvs were created at the same time as man. They served as intermediaries between the Hacturi and the Humans. Foremen, if one wants to be tactical. Slavedrivers, if one does not. They bred with humans, so that even one Elv could repopulate. Their natural instincts were designed to make the ratio of Humans to Elvs constant- they breed when they are alone, but kill each other off when they are crowded (no sense in having more slavedrivers than slaves). A capacity to cruelty was granted to the Elvs to make them more effective slavedrivers, along with whatever other personality traits the wizard-emperor thought they might need. The almost haphazard construction of their minds is what causes many Elvs to become insane. The Elvs were made to be subservient to the Hacturi. Subconscious and conscious methods of control were implanted into their very genes- an Elv would find it very hard to refuse a Hacturi's command, especially when made in the proper fashion. This ability of Hacturi to control Elvs is sometimes known as the Bond. The Humans were made to be subservient to the Elvs. The Elvs inspire loyalty, inflicting a lesser, passive form of the Bond on the Humans around them.